A never-ending flow of information and the demands for our productivity are always increasing. It is a real art to keep your focus, which becomes much more difficult for people who have anxiety or depression.
The thoughts in their head are very noisy and their minds jump around, so a feeling of tiredness often stops them from focusing on important things.
Although this task seems very hard, you can learn how to improve focus, and this is a key to getting back control over your life and feelings, which this guide will help you understand step by step.
Understanding the Problem
Before you start the exercises, it is very important to understand why anxiety and depression have such a big effect on your focus, because anxiety makes your mind ready to ‘fight or run,’ so your brain is always looking for problems in the world around you, which leads to distraction and the inability to focus on just one task.
When your inner ‘scanner’ is working very hard, every small thing can be a potential problem, while depression, on the other hand, often brings a ‘fog’ in your head, less desire to do things, and low energy.
Because both of these states create a loud, inner ‘noise’ from thoughts and feelings that stops all your tries to focus, our main goal is not to stop this noise but to learn how to make it quieter and to point your ‘attention light’ where you want it to go.
Practical Steps to Make Your Focus Better
Mindfulness and Anchors for Attention
Practicing mindfulness is a very strong tool which teaches us to be ‘here and now’ and not let our thoughts take us to the past or the future, because instead of fighting the inner noise, mindfulness helps us to watch it without judging it, and this makes its effect smaller.
- Mindful breathing: You should sit in a quiet place and focus on your breathing, feeling the air as it comes in and out of your body, and if your thoughts start to wander, you should gently bring your attention back to your breathing, which is a simple exercise that only takes 5-10 minutes each day and is a great way to train your ‘focus muscle.’
- Mindful routine: You should choose one thing you do every day, for example, brushing your teeth or washing the dishes, and during this process, you should focus on all the feelings, such as the temperature of the water, the smell of the soap, or the movements of your hands, because this helps you to switch your focus from anxious thoughts to physical feelings.
The Spotlight Technique for Attention
You should imagine that your attention is a spotlight, because when you have anxiety or depression, this spotlight is automatically pointed at problems, mistakes, and possible dangers, so your goal is to learn how to consciously move it to things that are good for you.
- Three positive moments: At the end of each day, you should write down three good things that happened to you, which can be anything like a person’s smile, a good coffee, or a beautiful sunset, as this practice makes your brain actively look for and notice positive moments, training your ‘positive’ focus.
- A detailed description of an object: You should choose any object in your room, for example, a cup, and look at it from all sides, noticing the color, the feel, and how the light shines on it, because this simple exercise helps you to switch your attention from your inner world to the outer world, training your ability to focus deeply on one specific object.
Fighting with Outer Noise
- Digital detox: Notifications from social media, news feeds, and never-ending messages are the main enemies of your focus, so you should decide on certain times when you completely turn off your phone and computer, which helps you to remove these distractions.
- Creating a ‘calm space’: You should make your work or personal area so that it has as few distracting things as possible by putting away extra objects and making sure the light is comfortable and the air temperature is good.
Working with Thoughts
Anxiety and depression are often linked to bad thoughts that come automatically, which is why working with them is a key part of making your focus better.
- Thought journal: When you feel that anxious thoughts are distracting you, you should write them down, writing the thought and what feeling it causes, and then you should think about it with logic to see if it is really true or if there are other explanations, a process that helps to ‘turn off’ bad thoughts and makes them less able to distract you.
- The ‘thought stop’ technique: When a constant thought bothers you, you should say the word “Stop!” in your mind or out loud, imagining this thought ‘disappearing’ or ‘going away,’ which helps you to break the bad cycle of thinking the same things again and again.
Your Physical Health and Vitamins
The state of our brain and nervous system is directly connected to what we put into our body, so good food and enough vitamins can greatly make your brain work better and help you fight the signs of anxiety and depression.
It is important to remember that you should always talk to your doctor before you start taking any supplements and vitamins to make sure they are right for you.
- B vitamins: Vitamins B6, B9, and B12 are very important for the nervous system and for making things like serotonin and dopamine, which affect your mood and focus, because not having enough of them can lead to being tired and a drop in your ability to think well.
- Vitamin D: This ‘sunshine vitamin’ is linked to controlling your mood and making the signs of depression less strong, and it also helps your brain to form new connections.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: These ‘building blocks’ for your brain are needed to keep cells healthy and make your thinking better, and they also help with inflammation, which can be useful when you have depression.
- Magnesium: This mineral is a part of more than 300 body processes and is known for making you feel calm, because it helps to relax your muscles and lowers anxiety, which in turn helps to make your focus better.
- Zinc: Zinc is important for a good working nervous system, so not having enough of it can be connected to feeling sad.
Apart from vitamins, you should not forget about the importance of getting enough sleep, which means 7-9 hours each night, regular physical activity, which can be a simple 15-minute walk that can greatly make your mood better, and a balanced diet.
Brain Training: Mind Elevate Online Exercises
| Game Name | Description |
| Orbital Match | You have to find symbols to match with sounds that are changing |
| Alien Invasion | You have to watch the paths of several moving objects that you must stop without hitting friendly ships |
| Escape the Maze | You have to find the right way out of a maze where the walls and things in your way change |
Conclusion
The road to making your focus better is not a sprint; instead, it is a marathon that needs patience, regular practice, and what is most important, being kind to yourself.
You should not be angry at yourself for mistakes or for days when you cannot focus, because instead, you should see every day as a new chance to train your brain.
By using a mix of mindfulness, physical activity, good food, and fun online exercises, you can slowly make the effect of anxiety and depression less strong and get back control over your attention.
